Deviants

Chapter 27

Johnny

Kate approaches me dressed warmly on the second day of October, early in the morning. The first snow fall of the year happens around us. She gives me a bashful smile since everything between us is still new. Is it too early to refer to her as my girlfriend? Today that's something I can't think about. I'm so distracted about what lies ahead of me that I can't even smile back.

Kate reaches me and I grab her hand, intertwining my fingers with hers. In the snow her ice blue eyes seem to glow. I push my glasses up my nose, trying to think of how to break the news to her. Her smile falters when she sees how serious I am.

"I have to leave somewhere," I say.

"Where's that?" She asks. I brush my fingers against her pink cheeks and into her jet-black hair. I think about the first and last time I had kissed her. I've wanted to kiss her every moment since. I pull her closer to me. She's still short enough that I have to turn my head downwards to kiss her. I smell the sweet bakery scent on her, and I touch my lips against hers. It sends warmth throughout my entire body. I think about her every moment I'm not with her, and I feel like I am already starting to miss her. Our kiss becomes deeper at the thought and I pull her closer, so she's pressed against me. But then I feel her hands on my sides and they gently push.

I slowly pull away but still keep her close. Her eyes are closed, and she breathes in short breaths.

"Wait, Johnny," she whispers. She opens her eyes, which are so light a blue they almost seem to blend in with the snow. "I need... I need us to go slower." I touch my thumb to her lips, which still shows evidence of our second kiss.

"I'll go as slow as you'd like," I say.

"Thank you," she whispers. I kiss her forehead, then her cheek, then the corner of her lips. I pull her into an embrace.

"I'll be gone for a few days," I whisper in her ear. Her hug is full of love, enough to be a silver lining in case everything goes wrong. When I pull away, she looks slightly concerned.

"Where are you going?" She asks.

"Back to my home state. There's just some business I need to take care of," I say. I'm thankful that she doesn't ask anymore questions. She wraps her arms around me again; at five feet three, her head barely reaches my lips. When we pull away she gives me an understanding smile, which makes me feel so much better about leaving and not telling her hardly anything.

"I'll leave it up to you to get a hold of me," she says. I want to say those three meaningful words, but I don't feel like it's the right time. So, I let her step away from me, her fingers slipping from mine. "Bye," she whispers. I watch her turn and walk away. I push my glasses up my nose before turning towards Vincent. That's when I notice a distant figure standing frozen in the falling snow. It's an older woman with simple brown hair pulled into a strictly neat bun. She faces the university, but she is too far away for me to figure out what she stares at so intently. I mount the bike, it being already started, and drive out of the campus.

The snow doesn't fall long, like I had expected, and by the time I pass the "Leaving Stonegate" sign, it has stopped completely, leaving a thing layer of snow on the ground. The icy wind bites at my face, but with my mother, brothers, and Kate on my mind, it doesn't affect me much. My heart pounds against my chest and my stomach twists with nerves. The thought of seeing Jenny's gravestone is the thing that I am most dreading. I would give anything to erase that one piece of information that Ace gave me.

A/N:

Short chapter I know, but not totally useless.

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